1,452 days have already passed.
And if all goes according to plan, it will be another 11 more.
But regardless of when it happens, one thing is for sure: Gennady Golovkin hopes to get his hands on Canelo Alvarez for the third time.
When the consensus middleweight champion walked out of the ring at T-Mobile Arena after a fight with his tan-haired contemporary in September 2017, he was happy to have retained his bracket of title belts via a split decision draw. , but frustrated at not getting a win. he felt that he won.
One day less than a year later, in September 2018, it was a familiar feeling for the Kazakh.
The problem was that his post-fight duffel bag was much lighter without the WBA, WBC, IBF and IBO straps he came in with, thanks to the 115-113 verdicts for Alvarez (seven rounds to five) provided by Steve Weisfeld and Dave Moretti, which nullified the close score scored by Glenn Feldman.
Both Weisfeld and Moretti scored the 12th round for the winner, who landed 21 punches to Golovkin’s 20 in the final three minutes, according to CompuBox.
Had anyone leaned the other way, the result could have been a second project in a row.
Instead, the threadbare wink in Alvarez’s favor accelerated the feud that had already developed between the once-amiable foes. The ever-approachable Golovkin left the ring without a post-fight interview, and the bitterness symbolized by the exit is precisely the kind of throttle that has since fueled a promotional machine constantly seeking new angles.
First cordial competitors. So nice rivals. Now bitter enemies.
“Knowing certain details, I think this fight would go ahead regardless of the outcome of the Bivol-Canelo fight,” Golovkin told Boxing Scene. “On the other hand, his loss in his last fight probably brought him back to reality. He probably taught him to treat boxing more seriously.”
A third fight is scheduled for Sept. 17, following overall success in interim tryouts for both: Alvarez is 7-1 in eight fights and Golovkin is undefeated in four. The four wins propelled Golovkin, who turned 40 in April, to 42-1-1 in a 16-year professional career.
But even more vital than the improvement of the resume would be the restoration of sanity.
That’s the sentiment of HBO stalwart Jim Lampley, who called both Alvarez-Golovkin fights for the premium cable giant and believes exorcising the Mexican ghost carries far more weight for Triple-G than titles or pound-for-pound ratings. pound.
“Life or death to his psyche,” Lampley told Boxing Scene. “It’s not that great for his legacy just because he wouldn’t be favored. Great legacy anyway. More importantly, it’s another great fight.”
In fact, odds at DraftKings have tagged Golovkin as a +340 proposition to meet No. 3, meaning a $100 bet on him would net a $340 profit. Alvarez, meanwhile, is listed as a -500 favorite, meaning a $500 payout is required to earn a $100 profit if he ends the trilogy with a second victory.
Betting aside, public opinion swung heavily in Golovkin’s favor after each of the first two bouts.
And given that reality, Lampley said, belief also remains on his side.
“The fact is, even though Canelo officially has a draw and a win, the comments on the web strongly suggest that the public believes GGG won both fights,” he said. “A lot of bad things can happen in a boxing career, but the official setbacks in fights that the fans think you won are just the opposite. The judges have given Gennady a gift: he is a martyr. History shows that only you love more for it.”
“I understand why public sentiment registers the way it does. Hardest sport to score, and probably 20 of 24 rounds were close. And GGG is one of the most fan-friendly fighters. Style, face, muddled English, everything on him. Convincing in the way that only the pure attacker can be.”
Assuming they make it to T-Mobile Arena unscathed, Álvarez and Golovkin will enter the airspace reserved for sports’ most recognizable couples and secure a prominent spot for each on each other’s Hall of Fame plaques.
“At some point I stopped expecting this fight to take place because there were certain obligations, contractual obligations, that got broken, some legal issues came up, and then the pandemic started,” Golovkin said. “So I actually stopped waiting at some point.
“But eventually this fight materialized, and I’m very happy that it’s happening now.”
Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier laid the foundation for much of his 41-round career between 1971 and 1975, while Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran did the same in three fights between 1980 and 1989.
Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward’s careers were defined by three apocalyptic fights over 13 months in 2002 and 2003, and Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez took it a step further, fighting four times at three weights between 2004 and 2012.
Naturally, there is no guarantee that a third meeting will reach those levels.
But given the finesse of their first encounter and the ferocity of their second, Alvarez and Golovkin, who combined to throw more than 1,500 punches in the sequel, will find something worthwhile to offer paying customers.
“My gut says it’s 1-1,” Lampley said. “GGG first. Canelo second. A reason third will sell.”
* * * * * * * * * *
This week’s title fight schedule:
There are no scheduled title fights.
Last Week Picks: 2-0 (WINNER: Pradabsri, Nontshinga)
2022 team record: 26-12 (68.4 percent)
Overall pick record: 1,235-404 (75.3 percent)
NOTE: Advance fights are only those that involve the full holder of a sanctioning body: non-interim, diamond, silver, etc. Fights for the WBA “world championships” are only included if there is no “super champion” in the weight class.
Lyle Fitzsimmons has covered professional boxing since 1995 and has written a weekly column for Boxing Scene since 2008. He is a voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter: @fitzbitz.
